Progress in Uranium Chemistry: Driving Advances in Front-End Nuclear Fuel Cycle Forensics

The front-end of the nuclear fuel cycle encompasses several chemical and physical processes used to acquire and prepare uranium for use in a nuclear reactor. These same processes can also be used for weapons or nefarious purposes, necessitating the need for technical means to help detect, investigate, and prevent the nefarious use of nuclear material and nuclear fuel cycle technology. Over the past decade, a significant research effort has investigated uranium compounds associated with the front-end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium ore concentrates (UOCs), UF₄, UF₆, and UO₂F₂. These efforts have furthered uranium chemistry with an aim to expand and improve the field of nuclear forensics. Focus has been given to the morphology of various uranium compounds, trace elemental and chemical impurities in process samples of uranium compounds, the degradation of uranium compounds, particularly under environmental conditions, and the development of improved or new techniques for analysis of uranium compounds. Overall, this research effort has identified relevant chemical and physical characteristics of uranium compounds that can be used to help discern the origin, process history, and postproduction history for a sample of uranium material. This effort has also identified analytical techniques that could be brought to bear for nuclear forensics purposes. Continued research into these uranium compounds should yield additional relevant chemical and physical characteristics and analytical approaches to further advance front-end nuclear fuel cycle forensics capabilities.